1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coke ovens and, in particular, to checker bricks used in coke oven regenerators.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known that the efficiency of coke oven regenerator bricks may be improved by increasing their surface areas so as to increase the rates at which they absorb heat from hot coke oven waste gases during the waste heat cycle or transfer heat to cooler fuel gas mixtures or air during the heating cycle. A number of limitations, however, exist with respect to increasing the surface area of coke oven regenerator checker bricks since such bricks must have enough mass to retain a sufficient amount of heat and must also have a certain amount of structural strength. It is also important that the brick be not overly expensive to manufacture and that it can preferably be economically made by either the re-press or the dry press method. In the re-press method a viscous refractory material is pushed by a press to form a slug which is then re-pressed into a mold and ejected in the form desired and thereafter dried and then placed directly in a kiln for curing by firing. The dry press method is generally similar to the re-press method except the refractory material inserted in the mold is somewhat less wet. Many refractory forms having intricate cross sections readily crack and crumble during the curing phase of the re-press or dry press methods so that they must be manufactured by the more costly casting method. In the casting method refractory material is poured into a mold in which it must be left for an extended period of time after which the green brick is then ejected from the mold and then heated to drive out moisture after which it is placed in a kiln for curing by firing. The necessity of having to cast a particular refractory shape will significantly add to its cost. It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a high efficiency coke oven regenerator brick which maximizes surface area while maintaining adequate structural strength and mass and which may be manufactured by either the re-press or the dry press method.